London’s Police and Crime Plan

The first Police and Crime Plan (PCP) for London, which was published in March 2013, sets out the Mayor’s strategic plan for tackling crime and keeping London safe. The PCP will be important in setting the framework for local policing up to 2016. This briefing presents the key aspects of the plan, provides details on the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime’s recent round of crime prevention commissioning and discusses some of the implications for councils.

Background

The Mayor’s statutory PCP sets out his strategy in relation to policing in London, including the new local policing model which sets out how policing will look at borough and neighbourhood levels, including proposals around Safer Neighbourhood Teams and public access. The PCP also provides details on how the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) will commission crime reduction services in London. All of these areas have significant implications for the borough role in reducing crime and promoting community safety. This briefing provides details on the key aspects of the first Police and Crime Plan for London and discusses some of the implications for councils.

Analysis

Priorities and Targets

The first PCP for London focuses on three key performance measures for MOPAC and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to achieve by 2016, which are summarised as 20:20:20. These are to:

- reduce key neighbourhood crimes by 20 per cent, which means up to 25,000 fewer crimes
- boost public confidence in the police by 20 per cent, up to 75 per cent
- cut costs by 20 per cent by delivering £500 million savings.

These will be challenging targets. For example, the MPS currently has one of the lowest victim satisfaction rates of any police force in England and Wales, as well as low rates of user satisfaction, particularly among young black and minority ethnic (BME) Londoners.

The PCP also sets a 20:20:20 challenge to criminal justice agencies. These are to:

- seek swifter justice for victims by reducing delays in the justice system by 20 per cent
- achieve surer justice by increasing, compliance with community sentences by 20 per cent
- reduce reoffending by young people leaving custody in London by 20 per cent.

Progress on meeting these targets will be monitored by the London Crime Reduction Board (LCRB). 1

1. The LCRB is chaired by the Mayor and brings together Criminal Justice Partners and local authorities to coordinate a strategic approach to reducing crime in London. Mayor Jules Pipe (Hackney), Cllr Claire Kober (Leader, Haringey), and Cllr Philippa Roe (Leader, Westminster) represent London Councils. During the consultation on the draft PCP(^2) boroughs raised the concern that tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) had not been given sufficient priority in the Plan. Tackling ASB is a priority for LCRB this year (alongside tackling gangs and reducing reoffending) and this is recognised in the PCP. However, ASB is absent from the seven neighbourhood crime categories(^3) that will be used to measure the reduction in crime in London. The concern is that, in the current context of reduced resources, the MPS will be driven by the 20:20:20 performance model, and there are no checks in place to deter the MPS from reducing its operational commitment to tackling ASB in favour of high volume crime.

**Public access**

The PCP notes that the way in which Londoners contact the police is changing. While contact by telephone for emergency and non-emergency matters remains the most popular means of contact, email and online reporting are becoming more popular, with fewer people reporting crimes at front counters. These trends and the need to make substantial savings have underpinned the rationale for one of the more controversial aspects of the PCP. Sixty three front counters are set to close across London. While this will still leave at least one police station in every borough open 24 hours a day, every day, plus a further 40 counters open with a non 24/7 service (only three hours per week, being common), some communities will see their stations close.

**Police numbers and neighbourhood policing**

The Plan sets out the Mayor’s commitment to maintain police officer numbers at around 32,000, with some 19,000 working in boroughs on tackling local policing priorities by 2015. While this commitment will be welcomed, the planned changes to Safer Neighbourhood Teams, which are the ward level structure for local policing, in the new Local Policing Model have caused some concern.

Safer Neighbourhood Teams were originally conceived as one sergeant, two police constables and three police community support officers. This model has enabled local wards to have up to six named officers working on tackling local crime priorities as agreed by local Community Safety Partnerships. This model has been found by many boroughs to be successful in enabling local intelligence gathering, building strong community links and tackling local crime priorities such as anti-social behaviour.

The proposed new structure, which the MPS has started to roll out,(^4) would have one PC and one PCSO per ward, together with a sergeant, who would typically cover more than one ward. While there is a commitment made for the PCs and PCSOs in the new model to remain in the ward and not be “abstracted” to other areas when urgent cover is required, concern has been raised about this model’s ability to deliver effective local policing.

**London Crime Prevention Fund**

MOPAC recently worked closely with London Councils to set up and implement a new London Crime Prevention Fund. The fund pooled together historic funding streams previously distributed by the Home Office. The new funding pot is non-ring fenced, however MOPAC

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2. Consultation responses to the draft PCP can be viewed here: [http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/policing-crime/consultations/police-and-crime-plan-2013-2016](http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/policing-crime/consultations/police-and-crime-plan-2013-2016)

3. The seven neighbourhood crime types are: burglary; vandalism / criminal damage; theft of a vehicle; theft from a vehicle; violence with injury; robbery; and theft from the person.

4. Tranche 1 boroughs to implement the LPM by end of June 2013 are: Westminster, Islington, Camden, Barnet, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Merton, Hillingdon, Sutton, Southwark, Bexley, Lambeth, Haringey, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Havering. Tranche 2 will be implemented by October 2013. asked boroughs to demonstrate the potential impact (i.e. likelihood of making a difference on the ground) of their proposals as well as how they reflect local demand. Boroughs were also asked to demonstrate how their proposals aligned with MOPAC priorities. In looking to be able to demonstrate impact, MOPAC placed an emphasis on boroughs to set out clear, and evidenced, outcomes for their proposals.

Bids for the fund were received from across London’s local authorities for a wide variety of work programmes looking at tackling gangs, reducing violence against women and girls, drug and alcohol related crime, reducing reoffending, anti-social behaviour and other community safety issues.

The total funding allocated for the financial year 2013/14 was approximately £17.8 million. For 2013/14, MOPAC has ensured that no local authority will get less funding from MOPAC this year than the previous financial year. In many cases, funding has been agreed for four years, although funding post 2013/14 will depend on successes in the first year.

**Safer Neighbourhood Boards**

The PCP highlights MOPAC’s intention to establish a Safer Neighbourhood Board (SNB) in every London borough by 2014. The boards are intended to provide a ‘more streamlined’ mechanism for holding the police to account at a borough level. SNBs will be established as part of a wider review of community-police engagement groups, which will see more engagement taking place at ward level through Safer Neighbourhood Panels that will be linked to the SNBs. They will have a number of functions, including working with local partners to establish policing and crime priorities and monitoring crime performance and community confidence in their areas.

MOPAC has indicated that discussions on how to take these plans forward will now take place at the borough level and will include a range of partners, including local authorities.

**Commentary**

The Police and Crime Plan sets the tone and direction for policing and crime reduction for the next five years. The scope of the plan directly impacts on many aspects of borough activity to prevent and reduce crime.

The PCP presents much that boroughs will welcome including the aspiration to cut crime, increase public confidence in policing and to make significant cost savings. The aspiration to improve the support for victims of crime and to reduce reoffending is also welcome. There are, however, aspects of the PCP that will be of concern to many boroughs.

Concern remains around how the number of 32,000 visible police officers will be maintained and what the potential impact on essential backroom work will be; including the work of analysts and coroners support teams.

The closure of front counters will also be a contentious subject, and it is hoped that a thorough dialogue on options for maintaining access points will take place with boroughs. The absence of direct prioritisation of ASB in the PCP will be a key concern for many boroughs.

In addition, changes to SNTs, with a reduction of dedicated officers in ward teams may mean a diminished ability to tackle ASB on the ground, as well as impact on public confidence and intelligence gathering ability.

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5. Substance misuse (including alcohol) and related offending; gangs / serious youth violence; violence against women and girls; integrated offender management/ reoffending. A greater focus could have been made on partnership action and in particular the role of boroughs and other agencies on crime prevention and early intervention, also more explicit mention of Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs, Health and Wellbeing Boards and links to children’s Services could have been made.

Lastly, Safer Neighbourhood Boards have the potential to increase the local accountability and transparency of local policing. Nevertheless, MOPAC will need to follow through on its assurance of working with local partners to ensure the new structures complement and link to existing local arrangements, including community safety partnerships, ward panels and area forums.

Author: Rangan Momen, Principal Project and Policy Officer (T: 020 7934 9816) Click here to send a comment or query to the author

Links: Read the 2013/16 Plan

This member briefing has been circulated to: Portfolio holders and those members who requested policy briefings in the following category: Crime and Public Protection